Fluid purifying device



Dec. 6, 1932.

I w. J. HUGHES FLUID PURIFYING DEVICE Filed April 9, 1931 5 sheet s rsheet 1 Dec. s; 1932.

w. J. HUGHES 1,890,294

'FLUID PURIFYING DEVICE Filed April 9, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' wi l 14 Dec. 6,1932. w. J. HUGHES 1,890,294

FLUID PURIFYING DEVICE Filed April 9, 1931 s sheets-'she'e't z Dec. 6, 1932. -w. J. HUGHES 1,890,294

FLUID PURIFYING DEVICE Filed April 9, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Dec. 6, 1932 UNITED'STATESV CHICAGO,;ILLIIOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS FLuID PURIFYING pnvicn Application filed A ia 9,1931. Serial 525,746.

In the art of steam separation or 'purifica-I tion as it is comingto be known, the early devices were installed in the steam line ad-' jacent to the engine or other apparatus in which the steam was used. This was because superheaters had notcome into general use at that time. of protecting the prime mover from slugs of water discharged from the boiler with the steam and also from water formed by condensation during transmission of the steam from boiler to engine. With present-day general use of superheaters, the need'for purification is not lessened, but the point of applying the separator or purifier is changed;

to precede the superheater.

The advantages are obvi wet and impure steam is-delivered to a super-' heater, some heat is'consumed for evaporation'instead of all being used to raise the temperature above that at the saturation point; Also the impurities clog the super-- heat transmission efliheater and reduce its ciency.

Superheaters are. usually installed the. path of the furnace gases within-the furnace setting of a boiler, In order to precede them the steam purifier has commonlybeen installedwithin the steam space of the boiler and connected to the boiler outlet. While this practice has prevailed for several years and still is followed to some extent, further development in steam generation is bringing about a second general change. While the" steam drums .of boilers are not being materially increased in s1ze, thesteam generating capacit es in proportion to drum sizes are being doubled and tripledr Purifiers must in-- crease in size according to the amount of steam generated so that space forproper installation within the boiler is becoming gen.-'

erally inadequate for the purifier and for ac cess to same. w

t A purifier installediwithin the boiler and known as the. internal type, has to fit within the space above the water line in a comparatively long and small diameter drum. Its shapetherefore is long and narrow, in many cases requiring careful attention. to steam flow distribution to prevent overloadin, of

The early problem was one one in that when N Q F CE" WALTER. J. HUGHES, oFcHIeAGo, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR To GENERAL ZEOLITE co., o1

portions adjacent-to the outlet. *Ini some cases an auxiliary drum has been provided for the steam'purifier but this as heretofore v object is an arrangementthat requiresaimuch smaller and less expensive pressure vesselor casing. Thisiis accomplished by the use of a cylindrical wall within the; casing for mounting the purifying fele nent, instead of a flat circularplate across the vessel ashere 05. V This invention has several objects. One I tofore used, together with an improved type i of purifyingelement and method of mounting same. In vessels of the same diameter and approximately the sameheight, the cylin'-- drieal wall presents 'much' more surface area than a flat cross plateto which the purifying elementhas been heretofore attached and so greater capacity in the 'same space or equal capacity in a smaller casing.

.Thus in acasing 5ft. 'n diameter and 4 ft, in height, aflat cross platelprovides a gross area of onl about '20 sqtftlto which a puri fying element may be fastened. In the same size casing, an innercylindri'cal surface for a purifying element may be 4 ft. in diameter and 4 ft. h gh providing about 48 sq. ft. of gross area or more than double that of the' flat cross plate. In other words, to provide equal element area in a flat cross plate, the; V

casing would have to be about8 ft. in diameter or be made longer in proportion,

Sincean' increase in diameter requires the use of heavier construction in pressure vessels the cost thereof increases more rapidly than the size'increase; Thus both 'thespace' required: and the cost of construction are materially reduced by my arrangement .where-' in I utilize a cylindrical inner wall for sup-' 69.. take care of future load increases.

variations are considerable or continue over long periodsor are frequent, as'with pulsat-- ing'fiows, cracking of the platemay occur,;

1 due perhaps to the metal becoming fatigued.

partition forattachment of the purifying elele'ss costly'materialn Another object is the provision metrical arrangement ofthe purifying elej ments with reference to the 'steam'inlet and time construction may be of much lighter and tion: is cylindrical and ofmuch larger cross 5; section'area than the inlet pipe, it. serves also as'ailrexpa'nsion' orTstilling chamber and thus anyJargersIugs of liquid fall to thebottom without entering the purifying element;

The element is thereby relieved of severe 40) overloading and will in general work more efficiently. j

ber is provided. With'this construction the drainage chamber maybe very large so as to hold. large quantities of liquid. This avoidsthe need'and expense of-large drainlage. pipeand trap to take care of the large slugsor floods ofliquid that are sometimes 50; carried, in for short periods. They can be held in this largspace until there is time to drain outthrough ordinary sized'pipe andtrap. Also the flange on the side of the shellmay be placed in any desired position so as 55 1 to facilitate piping. connections. I i l The vessel is easily entered through. a suitable openingigfor placing of the purifying element sections of which there; may be one or several tiers.- Thusj accessibility for .clean- %ing,'-ins'pection landrepairing is provided. The 'inner' cylindrical wall may be entirely filled -'.Wi th :purifying element sections or it maybepartly blanked olfso that extra sec-, purifier t0 7 tion offiowofthe fluid. 'In thecase .of the tions: may be later added" to the ing and misalignment of the purifying ele-, I ment attached to same. Where the pressure 1 accessibility, more rigid construction and re- Failuresfofthis kind cannot be totally avoid ed even with -.veryheavy"and costly flat construction; The use of van-inner cylindrical;

. 1 mentavoids these diificulties'and atthe same plan View of a preferred construction on secof a symof ample flow passage'for the steambeyond the elements so as to prevent any tendency to; short circuit or to overload any part ofthe while theinner hexagonal or other suitably shaped edges conform tothe shapefof the arranged in tiers the sections, which are rectangular in shape, provide triangular shaped Y corner spaces readily utilizable for the drain- I age of individualsectionslf My improved-purifier therefore presents the important advantages of larger capaci ties with smaller and less costly apparatus, having improveddrainage facilities, greater 'ta'ges-will be apparent to thosejfamiliar withconditions existing in thefield' to which my invention pertains; V r j Referring tothe drawings, Figure 1 is a tion 11 of Figure 2. Figure 2 isa'vertical' section of Figure 1 on'the line 22. Figures. 3,- 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are details of the construc tion in which'thesame parts are designated 9: by the same'numeralsL 1 1 In Figures 1 and 2, 10 is a suitable casing,- 11 is an: inlet, 12 is an outletand 13 is an opening provided with a closure which may be used for access to the interior of the easing 10. Part 14 is a concentric wall attached 7 to the top head :of the casing l0and 15 is a similar concentric wallattachedto the bot-:1 tom head ofthecasing lO-and projecting tip-.1

Wardly intosame; The bottom of thecaslng 9?: v

10 isprovided' with a'drainage outlet 18-and the inlet nozzle l1 is provided with anzu pg' wardlyextending skirt:,16 surmounted-by a buffer or baflie plate .17 which will serveto still or even the How of fluid into the casing.

I a i :The skirt 16 is extendedsufiicientlyhigh to By carrying thei inlet pipe up into the chambera simple and cheap drainage cham-1 form a wall that will 'sep aratethe inlet ope'ning w 't ge space in the bott m of. the casing 10; v V

To the bottom edge of wall 14 and the up-' per edge of wall l5 a-re attachedtwosimilar' plates 19. The outer circular edges of the plates" are [attached to the walls 14 and 15 inner'chalnber formed by the row or rows of removable purifying secti'onsf20. The space between the upper andjjlower plates 19 may accommodate one row of purifying sections or it may accommodate two or more rows in tiers one 'above the other as shown in Fig ure2. I

When the purifier sections 20 which are rec-f I tangular in shape are inplace in the purifier, they form with the walls 14 and 15 an inner chamber communicating with the inlet, or. outlet as the case may be, and an outer'annular spaceconnected-with an outlet, or the inlet as the case may be, depending upon the direcleg construction illustrated, when the purifying;

sections are in place, the arrangement forms a hexagon the six corners of which-are occu'-,

pied by drainage members 21. which are wedge shaped.

drainage members 21. The drainage-mem-v bers 21 are provided with properly positioned drainage ports23. The lower plate 19 carries' an opening immediately under each drainage member 21 and these openings carry pipes 22 with sealed bottom ends-as illustrated in Figure 2. a

Figure 4; shows a preferred form of purifyingsection comprised of plates or vanes 24 which are held in parallel'relation to each other by rodson. which there are spacers 25, there being one, rod through'each corner of the plates2 1. Eachsectionis completed at its ends by the flexible strips '26which.

provide space for the nuts which go onthe ends of the rods carrying the plates 24: and. spacers 25. These flexible strips 26 aresealing members enabling the sections to be. pushed into place between two of'the drainagemembers 21 in such manner that the fluid is caused to pass through the section comprising the plates 24 on-which are the shaped passage members 27. These shaped" passage members 27 are tubular and serve to collect moistureor' other impurities from the-fluid and permit it to be discharged to thebottom of. the purifying section where it is collected in a drain pan 27-aas shown in Figure 5. v

Figure 5 is an assembly of a top cover plate28, a purifying section 20 and its drain pan 27-a as the three parts would appear when set in place between two of the drainage members 21. a Figure 6 is a detailof the intermediate or top plate 28 with overhanging edges thefront one of which has the extension lips 29a. The ends are provided with drainagespoutsor lips 29 which project through the drainage openings, in the drainage member 21 when the top 28 is inplace.

(See Fig. 9.)

Figure 7 is a detailed View of the drainage pan showing the end openings 30, the angles 31 for supporting the purifying section 20 above the bottom of the pan, the stiffening edges, the rear one of which is notched at the back corners to fit the projecting edges 32 of the backs of the upright drainage members 21 shown in Figure 3. The forward corners direction from that illustrated. In some.-

that the sealing strips 26 a at the ends slide inside the ends ofthe drain pan-27aQ The assembly is pushed back into place on the lower plate 19 between two of the drainage uprights21. When in place: the back corners An intermediate top cover. plate28 as shown by Figure 6 is set on top of the purifying section, being dropped in to place 1n such.

manner that the projecting lips 29 are inserted in the corresponding drainage openings or ports 23 of the upright drainage members-21. This intermediate top cover plate locks the first lower section in place. i

A second purifier section 20 is placed; in its drainage pan 27-a and pushed into place on topof the top intermediate, plate-28 of the first'section inserted. In the same manner' a secondtop intermediate .plate is set in place on top of thesecond section so that its drainage lips 29 project into the second tierof drainage ports 23inthe upright drain- I age members 21. In this manner the second 'tier of any number of sections may be built up and locked in place but the uppermost section which slides under the uppermost plate 19 carries a top plate 35 asshownby Figure 8. This top plate is provided with sealing strips'32+a which engage the under surface of. the upper plate 19. (See Fig. 3-.)

or .lug 33 and the stud and nut 34 attached to theupright drainage member 21'as shown: 7

in Figure 3.

vFigure 9 shows a portion .of'theconstruction'illustrating how the tiers of purify ing sections are built up and pushed into placelike a.- set of drawers. 1

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, 'it will be noted that whenthe position r'ofgthe con-' The top or uppermost section isheld locked] in place. by means of the; removable fastener nection ,12 to the outer annularispace between the wall of the casing 10;and,the purifyingelement structure tends to cause nn-. evenflow through the element, a semicircular or other shaped annular passagemay be attached to the wall of 10, as the member 36. This member may carry spaced openings 37 aggregating a total area equaljto or slightly less thanthat of the opening 12.

It will beunderstood alsothat the opening 1 11 may be at the top of the casing 10 .in

steadof at the bottom, in which; case the manhole opening 13 maybe at the "bottom. Obviously 'by reversing the sections 20 and making other adaptations the flow of fluid through the purifier may be in the opposite cases it will be found advantageous to have a complete cylinder extending from the top 45 wall thereof extending Vertically a substanother drainage means such as pipes provided.

7 geously be by'a pipe, leadingdirectly' from Ifthere wereib'ut a single horizontal row of purifying sections drainage could advantavention pertains. I I p I thereforedo not propose limiting the patent granted exceptas necessitated by the prior art, short of the broadest interpretation'of the appended claims. i "WhatI claim 1. In a vfluid purifier comprising a vertical cylindrical casing, an inner-wall forming 'an outer annular passage having'an outlet 1 an outer annular passage having an outlet and 'an inner passage havingan inlet, a port in the said wall," purifying means in connection with thesaid port, the said means com V pris'ingfremovable tiered sections, vertical ,3, In a fluid purifier, a vertical cylindrical and an inner chamber having an'inlet, a port in the said wall, a demountable purifying element adjacent tosaid port and'means for-J equalizing the resistance to 'flow from the outer annular passage to the saidoutlet. V

2. In 'a'fluid purifier comprising a vertical cylindrical casing, an innerj'wall forming drainage passages commonito'nthe sections adjacentthereto', and means for equalizing the resistance to" flow from the purifying element tojthe said outlet" i I V casing having an inner concentric wall'having a port and forming a central subsidence chamberfl'and an outer annular'passage, an

inlet in the bottom of the'said chamber the tial dista ce into the chamber, an outlet'for the outer annular passage, "purifying means adjacent tosaid port, means for draining the said purifying means to the bottom off thersubsi'dence chamber and means for draing the said chamber. a .7

- 4. In a fluid purifier, a verticalcylindrical I casing having a ported inner concentric wall,

a casing o-utlet'on one side of the said wall and a casing inlet on theother side, and removable means operatively covering each port forieffecting purificationof the fluid passing througheach said ports- 7 5; In a'fluid purifier,a vertical cylindrical c-asinghaving inlet and outlet openings, a concentric wall Within the casing between the said' inletja'nd said outlet, a'p'ort in the con centric wall, removable, purifying means c'ov- "y eringthe said port, means for drainage of the said purifying means',and an= openingfor" removal of the said purifying m'eans fromthe casingf 6. In a fluid purifler,'a cylindricalcasing, a poly-sided structure comprisingpurifyin' saidfcasing, top, bottomandend closures for the said sections, the bottom andend closures being; adapted to receive and convey drainage from the said sections, an inlet to" and anoutlet from said casing and means comprising a cylindrical wall and the said clos ures for "causing the fluid to pass through" the said purifying section;

7. A fluid purifier comprising an outer cylindrical casing having an inlet, an outlet,

and a drain opening, an inner" cylindrical v 7 sections supported concentrically'with n the structure extending-fromend to end of'said casing, a deinountablepurifying element mounted in the wall 'ofsaidinner structure, 7 drainage means for said element, thebottom of the casing serving as a drain" chamber to receive separated impurities. g g I r 8. A fluid purifier comprising a vertical cylindrical casing having inlet, outlet and drain openings, an innercylindrical structure v extending from end to end of said casing, a

removable purifying section mounted in the" 7 said structure, sealingmembers attached tosaid section and bearing on said structure,

said section and said casing being provided with drainagemeans. 1

9. A fluid casing having inlet, outlet and drain openings, a cylindricalstructure therein and "ex- I tending from end toend thereof,aremovable; purifying element mounted in said structure purifier comprising a cylindrical and sealing members contacting with "said fluidby-passing said element. o

10; A fluid purifier comprising an outer structure and said element for preventing vcasing, an interior rigid structure comprising demountable purifying elements and exjtend-f ing from one end thereof to form an outer annular chamber and an inner cylindrical cha'mbenan outlet fromsaid annular chain-" her, an inlet tosaid cylindrical chamber said inlet being substantially less'in area than the cross section area of the inner cylindrical chamben g 11.111 afluid purifier having an outer casing provided with inlet, outlet and drain connections, a rigid inner structure extending from end to end thereof having demountable fluid purifying means mounted in the Wall" thereof, said structure dividing the interior y ya of the casing into an annular outletchamber and an inner cylindricalexpansion chamber. 12. A steam purifier of the external type having a closed'cylindrical casingprovided with an internalstructure extending axially" and forming an inner'cylindrical chamber" to provide an expans on space for the lnco'm i ingY'steam, the bottom, of'said cylindrical thereinand attached to thetwo ends thereof chamber serving as a receiver for separated lmpuritles, said casing havmg an outlet and said expansion chamber having an inlet opening and a drain opening and demountable purifying elements mounted in the wall of said structure.

13. In a fluid purifier, a cylindrical casing, an inner cylindrical wall attached to both ends of said casing to form an inner cylindrical chamber and an outer annular chamber, a

fluid inlet to one chamber and a fluid outlet 7 from the other chamber, a port in said wall through which fluid must pass to flow from the said inlet to said outlet, a demountable purifying element operatively covering said port and an opening in said casing for removal of said element, the inlet chamber be ing of substantially greater cross sectional area than the inlet thereto.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

WALTER J. HUGHES. 

